Denny Hamlin is first driver disqualified from a win in 60 years after NASCAR found some hidden shenanigans

• Denny Hamlin won the Pocono race on Sunday but had the victory taken away after the race when he was DQ'd.
• The cars of Hamlin and teammate Kyle Busch (finished 2nd) failed the post-race inspection.
• The other two cars for Joe Gibbs Racing were not inspected. 

Denny Hamlin captured the checkered flag for the third time this season with some aggressive driving and a little revenge against a bitter rival in Pocono, but NASCAR later took away the win, leaving the racing world stunned.

Hamlin crossed the finish line first after riding Ross Chastain into the wall late in the race and then holding off teammate Kyle Busch for the victory. 

However, about 90 minutes after the race, NASCAR announced that both Hamlin and Busch — who finished second — had failed the post-race inspection and were knocked to the back of the field. Instead, NASCAR gave the win to third-place finisher Chase Elliot, his fourth of the year. 

While cars often fail pre-race and post-race inspections, this was the first winner to be disqualified from a race in over 60 years, according to NBC. In 1960, Emanual Zervakes was DQ'd after a win for having a gas tank that was too big. 

—NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 25, 2022

Both cars had extra material on the front bumper that may have been hidden

After the race, NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran offered some insight into the cause of the disqualification, saying some material was found where it shouldn't have been.

"There was some issues discovered that affect [aerodynamics] of the vehicle," Moran said. "The part was the front fascia, and there really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere that it shouldn't have been, and that does basically come down to a DQ."

The "fascia" refers to the front bumper and grille of the cars. According to Bob Pockrass, it appears NASCAR found some extra material underneath the cars' "paint," which is actually a wrap these days. This also explained why the infraction was not found during the pre-race inspection.

"NASCAR says the issues weren't found in prerace tech because they don't take the wrap off during prerace tech," Pockrass wrote. "Taking the wrap off in certain places is part of postrace tech."

You can see how the wrap is applied to the cars before a race here.

—Ryan Blaney (@Blaney) May 26, 2022

Moran hinted that the cause of the DQs was something teams might have done in the past but were warned about with this year's new cars.

"The teams and the owners and everybody is well aware that this new car was going to be kept with some pretty tight tolerances," Moran said. "There's some areas that all the teams are well aware that we cannot be going down the path that we had in the past with the other cars."

Moran noted that both cars were confiscated for further inspection at NASCAR headquarters. However, at this time, there is no reason to expect additional penalties. Hamlin is locked into the playoffs with two wins and Busch is likely in with one win and eighth place in the standings. 

The DQs raise questions about Hamlin's other teammates

Hamlin and Busch race for Joe Gibbs Racing, which also includes Martin Truex Jr and Christopher Bell. While many wondered if Truex and Bell had the same issues with their cars, they were not disqualified because they were not subjected to the same post-race inspection.

According to Pockrass, we may never find out if Truex and Bell were in violation since they did not finish in the top five.

"They most likely had released all cars from outside the top-5 back to the teams (typically they tell them on pit road after the race that they aren't going through tech and are good to pack up) before they found the issue with the 11 and 18 cars," Pockrass wrote on Twitter.

Either way, all four drivers will have a cloud hanging over them the rest of the season as many fans now believe the entire team "cheated."